Reflection of Trading Spaces
by Elfgoddess00
Summary: Don't get excited...I decided to post Trading Spaces under the Saiyuki category too. Weiss and the Sanzoikkou are swapping bodies. Things have already gotten way out of hand... Rated to be safe. Enjoy my friends. : Sharing some love
1. Go to the Kitty in the House

_**Trading Spaces**_

_**Chapter 1 : Go to the Flower Shop and Kitty in the West**_

"Aaaahhh...Sanzo! I'm starving! When're we gonna get there?"

"Give it a rest monkey! We've only been on the road for two hours. And you just ate 45 minutes ago!"

"Don't call me a monkey you stupid perverted kappa! And maybe I wouldn't _be_ so hungry if you didn't eat my last two meat buns!"

"You damn brat, I didn't see _your _name written on 'em!"

"They were in _my_ bag you stupid roach!"

"Who the hell're you callin' _roach_ you filthy monkey?"

"At least I'm not a pervert you perverted kappa!"

"You wanna put your fists where your mouth is you damn ape?"

"Bring it you pink-haired roach!"

"It's _red_! RED! You goddamn little shit!"

"Sure it is, you–"

_BANG BANG!_

"If the two of you don't sit down and shut the hell up you're _both _gonna be a nice, _blood_ red."

"My, my, what wonderful weather we're having..."

Gojyo and Goku sank down into their respective seats warily as Sanzo slowly and meaningfully lowered his gun and placed it back within his sleeve. Silence reigned, although for how long could be anyone's guess. Sanzo knew it was only a matter of time before the two idiots in the back found something else to fight over, and he was wondering, as he massaged the bridge of his nose in an attempt to ward off an oncoming headache, if the three aspects would be _too _terribly angry if just killed the both of them now and left their bodies behind for the crows to feast on. The thought was very tempting indeed, no matter _what_ his mission was.

A sharp pain lanced through his skull, beginning at the occipital base and raking around to his temples and then his forehead, and Sanzo grunted, falling forward a bit against the sensation. It felt like something was trying to pry him apart and slip inside. For lack of a better description, it felt almost like some sort of entity was trying to force it's way into his brain. The blond man silently contemplated what was left of his sanity, trying to calculate how much further his decent into madness had been taken thanks to the stupidity he was forced to endure day by day.

"Sanzo. Are you feeling alright? You aren't getting sick again, are you?" Hakkai asked softly from beside him. Sanzo grunted, not bothering to look-up.

"I'll be fine if those two idiots in the back lay off." he growled.

"Naa, Sanzo. You're sick?" Goku's worried voice piped up suddenly, forcing the pounding in Sanzo's head to start throbbing double time.

"Headache. So shut the hell up, stupid monkey." the monk replied, massaging his forehead with his fingertips slightly.

To tell the truth, this wasn't the first of these headaches Sanzo had been experiencing during the past few days. It was one of many. What was different about this one, however, is that it was far more severe, and that sensation of _something_ trying to pry his head apart had hardly been present previously. This time it had demanded his attention, and gave him slight cause for worry. He already had enough on his plate to deal with without having to worry about something like body possession. From somewhere above him, the monk thought he heard an amused cackle. "Rot in hell, you old hag." he grumbled under his breath, somehow just knowing that _she_ had something to do with this, and the laughter had been real. And if Kanzeon Bosatsu had something to do with this, then Sanzo knew he was in _big_ trouble. He groaned once more, this time, with feeling. He felt more than saw Hakkai's worried gaze flicker over his form even as Goku's hand became a slight pressure on his shoulder.

"You gonna be ok, Sanzo?" the youth persisted. A vein began pulsing dangerously on the monk's forehead.

"A-heh. Goku, I think Sanzo just needs a little quiet. Why don't we let him rest?" the healer edged in softly, trying to stop another war before it could get started. Wisely, Goku nodded, sitting back.

"Okay. Feel better Sanzo." Sanzo grunted in reply, closing his eyes and attempting to catch a bit of a nap.

"You perverted kappa! Gimme back my dumpling!"

"Again with the _my_! You stupid monkey, how many times to I have to tell you that your name ain't on it!"

"It was on _my_ plate, you filthy cockroach!"

"Like that matters you little shit!"

"It does _so_ matter you pink-haired perv!"

"If you call my hair pink _one more time_..."

"What're you gonna do about it, pink-head?"

"Alright, that's it– you're goin' down little monkey!"

"Little? Any time you'd like to try you pervy kappa!"

"Bring it on!"

"Fi—"

_THWACK THWACK!_

"The two of you give it a GODDAMN rest before I kick _both_ your asses!"

"Sanzo, what was that for?"

"You friggin' corrupt monk, that _hurt_!"

"Good, maybe you'll remember the pain the next time you try to do something stupid..."

"My, my, isn't this dinner delicious?"

"I've lost my appetite."

"Ooh! Can I have your noodles then Sanzo?"

_THWACK!_

"Back off monkey."

"Ow! Sanzo! I was just askin'! Unlike _some_ people who just steal it without sayin' nothin'!"

"You tryin' ta say somethin' little monkey boy?"

"Stop callin' me a little monkey! You damn perverted cockroach!"

"I call 'em like I see 'em, baby ape."

"You wanna say that to my face you pink-haired perv?"

"I _am_ sayin' it to your face you stupid monkey! And for the last time, my hair ain't –"

_BANG!_

"Shutting up now."

The table fell into silence as everyone finished their meal. Once he had eaten as much as he could make himself, Sanzo rose slowly, his head feeling as if it would fall off at any moment.

"I'm going upstairs for some peace from these two idiots. Don't bother me until breakfast tomorrow." Hakkai nodded as Sanzo left, his usual smile turned thoughtful. Across from him, Gojyo and Goku were already arguing over Sanzo's leftovers like a pair of rabid vultures.

"Don't you two think that's odd?" the healer asked, hoping to distract them.

"Think what's odd?" Gojyo grunted, trying to dislodge his hair from Goku's grip and still hold on to the precious gyoza he'd managed to grab.

"Sanzo just leaving like that. He didn't even finish eating." the brunet continued.

" So? He's got a headache or somethin', right? More food for us. God dammit Goku, LET GO!" Gojyo gave a mighty tug and wound up losing a handful of crimson silk to Goku's incredible grip. But he did come away with three gyoza.

"You little shit! You just pulled out my hair! What, are ya tryin' ta make me _bald_?"

"Hah! It'd be an improvement you damn pervy roach! Serves you right for takin' my food!"

"For the _last_ time you stupid ape, it ain't _your_ food! When're you gonna learn this shit?"

"It's not your food either! It's Sanzo's!

Both monkey and kappa turned simultaneously, forgetting Sanzo had already left, their faces immediately going blank as they registered the blond man's absence.

"Where the hell _is_ that corrupt monk anyways?" Gojyo mumbled, contentedly chewing on his hard-earned gyoza. Goku, face full of lo-mein already, shrugged.

"Mmbbffff ggmmff mmmoo." he replied. Across from him, Hakkai's smile turned a mix of disbelieving and exasperated as Gojyo smacked Goku upside the back of the head.

"Don't talk with food in your mouth. It's disgusting you damn animal." Just as Goku was taking a deep breath to begin what would undoubtedly become the hundreth battle of the day, Hakkai cut in quickly.

"Something's wrong with Sanzo." Both occupants across the table from him froze mid-quarrel, and stared at him. It was a rather funny pose, and Hakkai might have laughed if the situation hadn't been so serious. Instead he ignored it, behaving as if they were sitting up straight and sober, facing him. Waiting a beat, he pressed on.

"I've been noticing that he's been getting these headaches more and more frequently recently. He doesn't say anything about them, but I have a feeling they aren't normal. Both men across from him frowned thoughtfully, battle forgotten, and the healer breathed an inward sigh of releif. Three heads were better than one, after all, and Hakkai knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate if he was refereeing the battles between those two.

"Well, what do you think we should do about it?" Gojyo began. "It's not like he'd ever admit it, and if it is serious, then we need to find out what's going on." Hakkai nodded.

"I propose we simply keep an eye on him for now, and try to deduce what the possible problem could be. It shouldn't be too hard to spot something; he's already behaving less and less like himself." Gojyo and Goku nodded. The meal concluded in thoughtful silence and the group rose as one and acended the stairs to bed. At the top, Hakkai turned to Goku.

"Goku, you're rooming with him, so be sure to be on the look out for anything odd. Come get me if you notice something." the teen nodded, and turned down the left side of the hall. Hakkai and Gojyo turned right.

"Got any theories?" Gojyo prodded casually.

"None yet. The ideas I'm getting aren't very promising though."

"Sounds like a barrel of laughs. The last thing we need is a constantly pissed off monk. He's bad enough as it is." was the sarcastic reply. Hakkai nodded thoughtfully and closed the door behind them.

"I would have to agree with you there my friend. I hope the problem resolves itself. But somehow, I have a feeling it won't be so easy..." the healer replied. Gojyo groaned, flopping down on his bed, and Hakkai chuckled.

"Just what we friggin' need right now." Hakkai could not agree more as he turned off the light.

OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO

"Aya-kun, can you take care of this order? I've got to make the deliveries and Yohji-kun is still sleeping."

Fujimiya Aya felt his eyebrow twitch dangerously in warning at the mention of a certain lazy playboy still sleeping while he was awake and the victim of a pounding headache. He nodded mutely, turning towards the customers in question and flinched ever so slightly as they squealed in delight. Oh Gods, this was going to be a long day...

"Omi. When is Ken going to be in?" Omi smiled at Ran sympathetically.

"Not until at least 3pm I'm afraid. He's coaching the kids this afternoon through their first neighborhood game. That means he'll be there an extra hour or so." the youth replied. "I'm really sorry Aya-kun. I'll try my best to wake Yohji-kun before I head out."

"Hn." was his response. Aya knew it wasn't Omi's fault, but he couldn't prevent his short temper in the face of yet another migraine today. It was at least his fourth or fifth this week, and it was only Wednesday for crying out loud. Ken had told him to see a doctor, and as much as Aya hated doctors, he was tempted to do just that.

"Ja ne, Aya-kun!" and with a spunky wave, Omi darted out the back and towards their apartments before heading out for deliveries. At least he was going to _try_ and wake Kudo again. That way when Aya carved him up into little peices later he'd have no excuse to escape his fate.

With a heavy head, the stoic man turned and began ringing up orders as best he could, trying his hardest not to keep one hand on his temple as he did so.

He was well into tidying-up what remained of that morning's school-girl stampede, enjoying the silence, when he suddenly found his hands full of a rather tasty-looking bento.

"I closed up so we could eat together. You look like you could use a break, and I _know_ I need one..." a smooth, warm voice murmured in his ear. Aya turned, showing deep brown eyes a grateful smile in his own violet ones. "C'mon." Ken said softly, beckoning him towards the kitchenette in back. He nodded, following.

Ken headed for the fridge and pulled out a sports drink, stopping by the stove to put the kettle on and get a tea-cup out of the cabinet above. He set it on the counter. "Err...not sure what sort of tea you want." was the explanation he offered as he set his own bento down on the table and began unwrapping it enthusiastically. Aya measured a small amount of black tea into a disposable tea bag and closed it, dropping it into the cup. He turned around, leaning his rear against the counter as he watched Ken attack the contents of his bento with gusto. He raised an eyebrow, amused.

"That good, huh?" Ken paused, a light blush staining his cheeks as he looked up.

"I guess. Just hungry." was the reply. Ken went back to eating.

"Omi said you wouldn't be back until 3." Aya continued, turning at the whistle of the kettle and pouring hot water into his mug. He felt more than saw Ken's shrug.

"Nah, finished early. We creamed 'em." the red-head didn't have to be facing Ken to pick up on the pride in that sentiment.

"Glad to hear it." he murmured, unable to resist finally massaging his temple with his fingers idly as he sat down. He was understandably surprised when calloused fingers suddenly replaced his own, gently massaging both temples. Aya's eyes fell closed in relief, a sigh escaping his lips. They sat in silence for a little while longer, Ken standing behind Aya and massaging while Aya simply let him massage, grateful at the reprieve from what had been an intense pain.

"You know what? Take a nap. You need it. I'll take over the rest of your shift." the athlete said at length. Aya sighed, but his eyes remained blissfully closed.

"Ken, that's a double shift. Aren't you tired from soccer?" the stoic man replied softly, so as not to agitate the pounding in his head.

"Ran, I'll be fine. I doubt you're going to get much work done like this anyways, and you're probably scaring away customers." the brunet joked. Aya scowled, although the face was softened by his relaxed state. Talented hands moved onto his neck and the red head sighed blissfully, head falling forward. Behind him, Ken chuckled.

"See? You need some rest." suddenly the massage stopped and Aya cracked his eyes open to see Ken crouching before him, concerned. "Are you even hungry?" the stoic man sighed again.

"Not really, no." he admitted. Ken's face pulled into a frown.

"You're going to the doctor's tomorrow. No ifs ands or buts about it." Aya tried for another scowl, but failed miserably, and went back to massaging his temples. Ken's fingers brushed his aside gently and worked their magic once more. If there was anything Ken knew, medicinal massage was among the best. Being a major-athlete had many advantages. _Many_ advantages. Aya's headache dissipated momentarily at the thought of Ken naked and squirming on his bed. Ohh. Very nice. Sighing, he opened his eyes and tried to fix the brunet with his best death-glare. Ken only chuckled.

"Sorry, not gonna work. Even if you _were_ at full power, I'm not swaying on this. It's for your own good Ran." the athlete's voice softened and a calloused, sun-kissed hand slid down gently to cup a pale cheek. Ken leaned forward and planted a chaste, loving kiss on the stoic man's forehead. "Please?" he murmured, sincerity in his voice. Aya made the mistake of looking into deep brown eyes and found himself stuck. With a heavy sigh, he conceded.

"Fine. We'll go. But he isn't going to tell me anything I don't already know." the red-head grumped. Ken chuckled.

"Of course. Now go take a nap." he replied flippantly. Aya had the good sense to glare the back of the laughing man's head into oblivion even as he was trudging up the stairs to their apartments, relief at the idea of a good long rest; time spent with his eyes closed in darkness. Maybe the day wouldn't be so bad after all.

Boy, did he ever get it wrong...

OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO

With a groan, Genjo sanzo opened his eyes and blinked at his surroundings blearily. His headache, he realized immediately, was gone. Not just retreated, but gone. In fact, he felt oddly–sated. With a small smile, the monk stretched, sitting up in bed and looking about him for his cigarettes. Early morning light and cheery bird-song flitted through the window, and for once, Sanzo wasn't disgruntled by it. But where the hell were his cigarettes?

A quick glance at the night-stand gave him pause. Wait a minute– _The Tragedy of King Lear_? Was he in Hakkai's room? Frowning, Sanzo glanced around. No. He was...where the hell _was_ he! There was only one bed for starters and it was...oh shit. Sanzo cast a hasty glance down at the body he suddenly realized was reposing beside him. Brown hair...Goku? But he'd remembered their being two beds? Had they traded rooms in the night? Had the monkey decided the risk to bodily harm was worth it to sleep in a bed? Sanzo felt it would be prudent to peek first before blowing up and thrashing the teen within an inch of his life for invasion of personal space without permission; he had a sinking feeling he was missing something _really, _really important. Holding his breath, the monk peeled the blanket away from the form lying beside him very, very carefully.

_Oh._

Not Goku. A brunet he'd never seen before, in fact. Sanzo heard laughter, distinct and female, echoing through his shock, and one vital piece clicked into place: he didn't know where he was, he was lying in bed next to a man–a _naked_ man he'd never met before, and Kanzeon Bosatsu was laughing loud enough for him to hear.

And just like that, Sanzo knew, he was most likely _very_, very screwed. He lifted the blankets again carefully, so as not to wake the form reposing beside him, and looked down at himself.

Oh boy. That _definitely_ wasn't his. You function with something for over twenty years and you pretty much know the ins and outs of it at about twelve. There was _nothing_ familiar about what he was staring at. At all. With the exception of maybe size, which came as somewhat of a relief. Hands less bony and calloused in different places held the covers away from skin decidedly more pale than his own. Shit. With a sigh, Sanzo ran an unfamiliar hand up into his hair and started slightly as red strands fell into his view; the texture a bit more silken than he was used to, and certainly not the kind of hair that had been traveling in a topless jeep through all kinds of weather.

He was in someone else's body.

Sanzo pinched himself. It hurt. He did it harder. It hurt more.

Not dreaming. Double shit. And to complete Sanzo's morning from hell, the form beside him stirred, grumbling sleepily and smaking his lips.

"Koi?" a groggy voice called. "It's 6 in the frigging morning. What the hell're you doing up? G'back t' bed." Sanzo let loose another heavy sigh, and cursed inwardly and quite fluidly as he heard delighted female laughter bouncing off the walls around him once again.

_Fucking Hell_.

Why couldn't life ever be simple?

OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO

Fujimiya Aya stirred groggily, groaning and rolling over, his hand connecting with an empty bed beside him. With a soft grumble, the stoic man cracked an eye open, searching for his bed partner, and finding the bed startlingly not only empty, but rather unruffled. And it looked like–an inn bed? What?

"Naaa Sanzo! Are you awake! I'm starving, can we eat breakfast now?" a loud, obnoxious voice called close to his ear. An unfamiliar voice. Aya jumped a mile high and blinked somewhat scared violet eyes at the form bouncing on the floor beside the bed he was sleeping in; which he had decided was in fact not any bed he'd ever slept in until this moment. At the sight of the shocked, confused expression facing him, the teen in front of him abruptly stopped bouncing.

"Sanzo, you still feeling funky? You need something?" the youth prompted. Aya blinked and asked the first thing that came to mind, mouth and brain not working up to speed in his shocked state.

"Who's Sanzo?" the teen in front of him fell back as if struck. Giving him an odd, worried look, the youth hurried out of the room and down the hall, bellowing what sounded like "HAKKAI!" Aya followed the youth out, in search of a bathroom.

He found one without incident, never mind the robes on his lower half, and let himself in, turning on the light. It was when he caught sight of himself in the mirror that he froze.

OOOoooOOOoooOOO

Hakkai was wrenched from sleep abruptly by the combined sounds of enthusiastic pounding on the door as Goku bellowed his name from the other side and Gojyo cursing and insulting the monkey beneath his breath. Leave it to Gojyo to wake-up cursing, the healer thought with an inward chuckle. With a sigh, he pulled himself from bed and answered the door, stepping to the side as Goku fell face-first into the room. Gojyo had stopped cursing and was leaning up on one elbow, watching with a mild, half-asleep amusement. Goku brought himself up, spluttering.

"Hakkai, HAKKAI!" the healer winced and heard Gojyo curse again at the loud voice. Hakuryu 'kyuu'ed softly from Hakkai's neglected bed.

"Goku, what on earth is the matter? You're going to wake the whole inn." the brunet admonished softly. Goku simply shook his head.

"You remember what you said, 'bout Sanzo?" the teen panted frantically. Hakkai waited patiently for the boy to continue. When he didn't, pausing to catch his breath, the healer prodded him gently.

"What about Sanzo?" Goku looked up, and took a deep breath. Hakkai prepared himself for a stream of fast-moving words without properly placed breaks.

"Well this morning he's—" Goku was abruptly cut off by the sound of a loud, hoarse, masculine scream. Sanzo's scream to be exact. Coming from the bathroom.

Oh, _shit_.

OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO

There you have it. The start of something fun, I hope. What does everyone think? Let me know! Ja na minna!


	2. You're not the man I married!

Hey-ho, here's another update on Trading Spaces. To those of you who are looking for Edo, I'm sorry, but as the story is getting complicated, those updates take longer. Trading Spaces I can write during school visits and then upload into my office PC.

I'm a lot less familiar with the Saiyuki cast, and so they may come out far more awkward. I've been writing, reading, and watching Weiss for awhile now, but just started Saiyuki this year, and only recently was able to get the English mangas, thanks to a kind, good friend of mine. (I love you!) The rest I watched and read in Japanese, which still a rather difficult language for me. I speak and understand with about an intermediate fluency, which probably isn't much at all. I can carry on most daily conversation. That's about it.

By the by, while 'koi' does mean fish, like most Japanese words, there's more than one meaning. Koi also means love, as does 'ai'. In Japan, there are different kinds of love, and most people are reluctant to express it. (How sad is _that_?) The pop-term for it is "labu labu" (i.e. 'Love love' with a Japanese accent.) "Aishiteru" is a much heavier, deeper term, and is rarely, if ever used. As far as what a male would call a male lover, I'm not completely sure. 'Koi' is not widely used in Japan. 'Anata' (lit. 'You') is the common pet name in a male/female marriage. 'Boifuurendo' (Boyfriend) and 'Garlufuurendo'(Girlfriend) are also commonly used among younger people, as well as 'kareshi'(boyfriend), 'kanojyo'(girlfriend), and 'koibito'(lover). Whew! Makes learning the language difficult, when you have about two or three different meanings at _least_ for every word. Ok, on with the show!

OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO

**_Trading Spaces, Chapter 2:_**

"**_You're not the man I married!"_**

Well _fuck_.

What was he supposed to do _now_? Sanzo stared blankly at the form beside him that had gone back to sleep. Or so the monk hoped. And just how the hell was he supposed to manage not getting himself committed to a mental institution? He didn't imagine that simply telling the man beside him that he wasn't who-ever's body this was was going to be calmly and rationally accepted. Or accepted at all. So what then? Sanzo thought long and hard, his need for nicotine slowly eroding at his brain. For starters, he didn't even know who the hell was---_Ken_.

Wait, what?

_Ken_. That was the person beside him. He was sure of it. But how did he know and where did it--

..._12 pm shift today. Can sleep a little late..._

Ahh.

Slowly, bits and pieces of information began to trickle into his mind and Sanzo grabbed at them, studying them like an entomologist might study a rare species of insect. He realized, as a mental image of Ken naked, and, well...panting on a bed floated through his brain, that these were very likely memories of the person's body he was in.

The brunet next to him was his lover.

So not only did he get stuck as a _florist_, but a _gay _florist none the less. Dammit. And how the hell he could read memories when another person's soul wasn't in residence was beyond him. At least Gojyo wasn't here to laugh at him. In fact, Sanzo was pretty damn sure none of the others were here, so screw it--he didn't really care _what_ happened at this point. The monk had a feeling that this wasn't a permanent arrangement, and he welcomed the chance at a vacation from those morons for a bit. Not to mention all that traveling. He could handle this. He'd been through worse--_far_ worse. And if the three aspects wanted him to go West still so badly, they'd find a way to fix this pronto. Until then, he'd try and make the best of his current situation.

All he had to do was pretend to be this...Fujimiya Aya person. Not too hard. Although he wished he had more than surface memories to go on. After all, while knowing what he ate and who he screwed yesterday were useful bits of information, they didn't tell him much about what kind of personality he was supposed to have.

_'Just go with it, Konzen_.' Kanzeon Bosatsu's voice informed him glibly. Sanzo scowled.

_'I don't know what the fuck you have to do with this;--- no wait; this is probably **all **your fault--but you better fucking fix it you old hag, or I'm coming up there. And even that dickhead of a major-domo won't be able to stop me when I show you just how much you've managed to piss me off.'_ the monk growled back mentally.

_'You're welcome to try. Sounds like fun. Better pay attention now though...'_ Before Sanzo could reply or ask what Kanzeon was talking about, there were a pair of hands on his shoulders, and he found himself staring, up close and personal, into a pair of very assessing brown eyes.

"Ran, what is it? Do you still have that headache? You _always_ take advantage of a few more minutes of sleep when we both have the opening shift off." a warm, smooth voice called. Sanzo stared blankly at the man who was supposed to be his alter ego's lover. Not a bad choice at all, for a _guy_. But why was he saying 'Ran'? Wasn't his name Aya? Fucking A, he didn't want to deal with this shit. How the hell was he supposed to be someone else when he didn't even know what the fuck his name was? He scowled darkly, aggravated, and decided his best bet would be to play along.

"Nnn. Yeah. Headache is still there." he grunted, putting a hand to his head and sighing as he closed his eyes. There was a brief moment of silence. And then--

"Alright, that's it. To the doctor's we go. I'm getting Yohji up. He can take over your shift after ditching yesterday." Sanzo turned wide eyes up to the brunet that was now busy walking around the room in search of his clothes. The _doctor's_? Shit!

"Wait--what do you mean _doctor's_?" the monk growled. He was _not_ dealing with any damn medical personnel when he wasn't in his own freaking body. They'd likely be asking him all sorts of personal questions that he couldn't answer. And the Gods knew what _that_ could lead to. Stupid _bitch_! Sanzo thought with a growl. When was he ever going to catch a break? Ken turned and gave him an odd, worried look from over one shoulder.

"We talked about this yesterday, remember? I told you then I wasn't going to change my mind. You've still got a headache, you're going to the doctor's. Now stop being difficult get dressed, dammit!" the brunet growled. Sanzo bristled. He didn't care _whose_ body he was in, he wasn't going to take orders like that from _anyone_. And he _wasn't_ going to any damn doctor's. That was final. Glowering, the monk tried his hand at burning holes into the man's brain with only his thoughts. It didn't work. Damn.

"I am _not _fucking going to any doctor's, is that clear?" he ground out in a gravelly tone that sounded more familiar to his own. The brunet paused in the fastening of his jeans, and gave Sanzo what the monk interpreted as a clearly hurt look.

"What the hell is your _problem _Ran? You agreed to this yesterday when I fought you for it! I'm _worried_ about you! You haven't been yourself lately!" the once-blond man snorted, wishing once again, most heartily, for a cigarette. This guy had no idea...

"I changed my mind. I'm not going." he grunted, looking away. The swift sound of footsteps approaching him alerted Sanzo to the fact that he now had Ken's complete attention, and before he could begin to back himself out of bed, a pair of hands slammed into the wall on either side of his head angrily, and he looked up to find Ken's nose a mere breath from his own. It was making him uncomfortable. He fervently hoped this guy wasn't going to try and kiss him. That was the _last_ thing he needed.

Brown eyes once again narrowed, this time viciously, in an assessment the monk had a feeling he was at risk of failing. He sat in silence, his mind working furiously on ways he could possibly get himself out of this and smooth things over before they got out of hand, when there was a pounding at the door. Ken let out a small, frustrated growl.

"This isn't finished, Ran. There's something wrong, and I'm going to find out _what_." he hissed, pushing away from the wall and turning to answer the door. It opened to reveal a tall, lanky man, his wavy brunet hair tied back into a casual ponytail, hair in the front remaining around his face. Sanzo though of Gojyo for a moment, but the idea drifted away.

"_Yo_. You two lovebirds wanna keep it down? 'Man needs his beauty sleep, and you're disturbing _mine_." a smooth, smarmy voice muttered. Yeah, this man definitely reminded him of Gojyo. Perhaps a bit more vain, however.

"Fuck off Yohji! You got plenty of beauty sleep when you skipped out yesterday. In fact, _you're_ taking Ran's shift in the shop today, since he's **going to the doctor's**." the brunet grated out, the last sentence with more emphasis for Sanzo's sake. The man called 'Yohji' blanched, and when he pulled back slightly, Sanzo noticed the cigarette dangling from his mouth.

Ooh. Nicotine. He was moving before he even realized it.

"No way! It's my day off today! Get the kid to do it!"

"He has _school_ today Yohji! You don't have shit. And since you took _yesterday_ off, consider your holiday _over_." Ken growled back, clearly not in the mood and quite ready for a fight. Yohji took a deep breath, putting the cigarette between his fingers, and leaned into Ken's personal space.

"I was _sick_ yesterday! Sick!" he growled.

"Bullshit! You were _hung-over_! There's a difference!" the shorter brunet growled back, wishing his lover was more himself and inclined to make Yohji pull his own damn weight.

Sanzo paid no attention. He was almost there. _Cigarette_. He knew Aya didn't smoke often, so he shouldn't be craving one, but his brain couldn't seem to let go of the addiction. And damn, did he ever need one right now...

"Dammit Ken! Have you _ever_ been hung over?" Yohji was yelling.

"Yes, I ha---" Ken stopped dead, Yohji along with him, anger forgotten as Aya causally plucked Yohji's cigarette from between his fingers and sauntered down the hall, taking a deep drag that nearly depleted the entire stick in one sitting. Ken and Yohji stared at each other, then back at Aya.

"Did he just--?" Yohji began.

"Yeah, he did." Ken replied, concern and shock mingling. Yohji frowned darkly.

"First the jock accuses me of cutting shop like I'm some kind of _school boy_, and now icicle is smoking the cigarette right outta my damn mouth! I don't know what the hell the matter with you two is, but _fix it_, damn it, and leave the rest of us out of it!" the lanky man growled.

"Spare me. You cut out yesterday, you pull your share today. End of story. And goddammit Ken, I am _not_ going to the doctor's!" 'Aya' growled, finishing what had been Yohji's cigarette in the second puff. Ken, mute with shock, had nothing to say. Even Yohji, angry though he was, remained silent and staring. Something was definitely up with Aya.

"_Ken_, what the hell happened between you guys?" the playboy whispered into the brunet's ear. "You deny him sex or something?" Ken growled, swatting at him.

"No, you asshole! He woke up all pissy this morning!" the younger man shot back.

"_He_ is right here thanks. And if you two idiots don't lay off I swear I'm going to hurt someone." Sanzo growled angrily. He found himself quite suddenly pinned by not one assessing stare, but _two_. Yohji's lazy green eyes were studying him with a bored interest that belied the sharpness behind his jade gaze. The monk fought the urge to take off and find a nice restaurant to sit in until things ordered themselves correctly once more. The silence dragged on, and Sanzo felt a vein begin pulsing dangerously on this forehead.

"Alright. Who are you and where is Ran?" Ken spoke so suddenly in the silence that the other two men jumped before turning to stare at him incredulously. But the brunet's tone had been deadly serious. Maybe this wasn't going to be as hard as he thought? If Ken had been the one to suggest the idea in the first place, perhaps he'd be more open to the answer to that question.

"Ken, not you too! What the hell is with you two this morning?" Yohji growled. Ken only shook his head.

"I don't know _who's_ in that head, but it isn't Ran. I love him. I know. His eyes are all wrong." the younger brunet mumbled back. Yohji rolled his eyes at the sentimentality and turned back to stare at 'Aya' thoughtfully, eyes narrowed. After a moment or two, they widened in shock.

"Holy _shit_!" the playboy muttered. 'Aya' shifted uncomfortably. The stoic man's expression usually wore an 'I feel nothing.', or 'leave me the hell alone' look. Instead, that pale face now wore an expression that said quite plainly 'die slowly'. It was a shade far more belligerent that either had ever seen. Aya got pissed. He got enraged. He got cranky and grumpy and out-of-sorts. But he didn't get belligerent. Unless he was really, _really _drunk. And he was hardly _ever_ that rude to Ken, especially when the young man was worried over Ran's health. He bitched sure, but almost always gave in. Yohji frowned.

"You haven't been drinking, have you Fujimiya?" he pondered casually. The vein pulsing on 'Aya's' forehead grew larger and another one on his jaw joined it.

"_No_, I have not been drinking." he growled back in a clipped tone. "But I sure as hell wish I was..." he added as an afterthought.

Right, so in this case, as weird as it sounded, Yohji agreed with Ken. The man before them was _not_ Aya. But who was it? How had they managed to get in? Presumably, they'd have to slip into bed with Ken, _after_ getting the real Aya out. That seemed rather impossible. Especially since the man standing in front of them looked too much like the real Aya to be a fake. So then that left Aya's mind.

If Aya wasn't in his right mind, then who _was_? Yohji and Ken's eyes widened at the same time as they reached the same conclusion.

"Mastermind!" they yelled, and turned half frightened, half angry gazes back onto Sanzo. The monk swallowed. He had no idea who or what 'Mastermind' was, but he had a feeling it wasn't something he wanted to be labeled. Ken took a slow, menacing step towards him, face tight with rage and determination. Behind him, Yohji stood rigidly, clearly battle ready. Sanzo recognized a fighting stance when he saw one. And he had a feeling this wouldn't be like fighting those cannon-fodder demons either. Especially since he didn't have his gun.

_Shit. This wasn't looking promising._

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When Gojyo, Goku, and Hakkai arrived at the bathroom and knocked on the door, there was only silence that greeted them. Goku, expecting the worst, called Nyoi-bo forth, preparing to break the door down. Gojyo was not far behind with his shakujyo, however, Hakkai put an arm out in front of both of them, eyes narrowed dangerously.

"That isn't Sanzo's aura in there." the healer said calmly. Gojyo and Goku tensed, weapons at ready, as Hakkai slowly turned the knob. It was unlocked. He pushed it opened slowly...

'Sanzo' was standing in front of the mirror pulling comically at his face and alternating a close examination of his eyes and hair. When the door opened, he turned and regarded them with wide, unsure eyes.

"Sanzo...?" Hakkai ventured tentatively. There was a moment of silence, and then–

"Is that my name?"

Goku looked scared.

"C'mon Sanzo! Knock it off!" he wailed, putting his weapon away. Gojyo followed suit, looking at 'Sanzo' closely. Hakkai frowned suddenly, shaking his head. Before anyone could react, he had 'Sanzo' by the neck, and slammed him into the wall, eyes narrowed coldly.

"You're not Sanzo. Your aura is completely different. Who are you and what did you do with him?" he ground out in a flat, cold tone. The monk grabbed at Hakaki's hands, and with sudden and surprising force, he managed to wrench them away; his second move was to get one of Hakkai's arms behind the healer's back in a locked position, gaze suddenly less shocked and far more deadly.

"I don't know who the hell you people are, and I _don't_ know who the hell this Sanzo person is, but I warn you, I won't go down without a fight. You had better send me back to where I belong before I get hostile." the imposter ground out.

"Hakkai!" Gojyo yelled out. He leapt forward, shakujyo in hand, only to find Goku blocking his path, nyoi-bo meeting Gojyo's weapon with ease. The teen had a stark, serious look on his face. "Goku, what the hell are you doing? This guy's an imposter, and now he's got Hakkai!" the kappa growled. Goku only shook his head.

"I believe him. He doesn't know where Sanzo is. He's got Sanzo's body. If we hurt him, we hurt Sanzo." the youth stated seriously. Gojyo growled, but refrained from attacking again. As much as he hated to admit it, the monkey was right, and they were in a no-win situation. Aside from various other reasons, without Sanzo, there was no mission west. Reluctantly, the kappa stood down, but refrained from putting his weapon away.

In a sudden move, while 'Sanzo' was distracted by Gojyo and Goku, Hakkai managed to wrench himself from the armlock and flipped easily, landing a safe distance away.

"You don't know where Sanzo is?" he asked carefully. The 'monk' made a face.

"No. I don't even know _who_ he is, let alone where. I can only assume you mean the body I'm in." he replied in a flat, cold tone. Instead of looking belligerent, Sanzo's face had gone stoically emotionless, and cold. He regarded them cautiously, keeping a distance away.

Finally, Goku walked up to him slowly, his weapon gone, stopping just in front of the man who was Sanzo but wasn't. He looked up into the monk's face, and after a brief moment, said, " I'm Son Goku. This's Hakkai and Gojyo. Who're you?" Hakkai and Gojyo collectively held their breaths. 'Sanzo' scowled.

"I'm Fujimiya Aya." he said flatly. Goku blinked. Hakkai and Gojyo released their breath, and Gojyo had a pleasantly surprised look on his face.

"You're a chick? Trapped in a guy's body? Whoa! Why the hell does Sanzo have all the luck?" When he received two odd, exasperated stares and one livid one, he shrugged. "What?"

"I'm a man. M-A-N. " Aya growled.

"Then why do you have a girl's name?" the kappa pressed. 'Sanzo's' face went colder, if that was possible, the expression completely flat.

"That is none of your business." he growled back in a low tone of voice. "So don't ask again."

"Touuuchy!" Gojyo shot back. The cold expression adopted an enraged glare from amethyst depths. Hakkai stepped forward.

"Ah haha! Gojyo, let's not push it." he said politely. Tone belying the warning within the message. Wisely, Gojyo closed his mouth.

"Do you have any idea where Sanzo could be?" the healer continued carefully. 'Sanzo's' expression turned thoughtful.

"If I had a guess, I'd likely say he's probably stuck in _my_ body right about now." A scowl followed this statement at the thought that someone else was in his body around Ken, who might not know what was going on yet.

"Okay, so it's easy right? Where did you come from? Your _real_ body I mean. We'll just go there and try and fix it. Right Hakkai?" Goku cut in, still looking miserable and uneasy. His expression brightened slightly at the prospect of an easy answer to their solution.

"Goku. I'm afraid it isn't that simple." Hakkai began. He looked over at Sanzo–no, Aya. The man frowned thoughtfully.

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me where we are now?" he replied.

"We're in China, on our way West towards India to stop the revival of Gyumaoh." Gojyo responded casually. He'd lit a cigarette and was smoking it while leaning against the wall. He appeared relaxed, but enough time spent around Yohji told Aya that he was anything but. Not that he could blame any of these people. Although he was surprised at how quickly they'd figured things out. He only hoped Ken was as fast.

"China?" Aya frowned again. "I'm from Japan." Hakkai's face turned thoughtful.

"Japan? I've heard of it, but must confess I've never been there. It's an island, is it not?" Aya nodded. Goku looked confused.

"Wait, you're from another country? Is it far?" he asked, hope dwindling. Aya nodded reluctantly.

"We'd have to cross the sea. To the East." he informed them. Hakkai shook his head.

"Somehow, I don't think that would work anyways." he said slowly. Aya nodded in agreement.

"Look. Sanzo's got a mission, right? The three aspects sent 'im, so if they want us to finish, they'll fix this. Why don't we just chill out and see what happens?" Gojyo prompted from his corner. Hakkai tilted his head, and Goku looked alarmed at the idea of no Sanzo for an indefinite period of time.

"I don't know about that, either. The three aspects may not know about this. " the healer said thoughtfully. Goku's eyes grew larger.

"Wait, so he's stuck like this?" the teen yelped. "No way!" Hakkai put his hands up in a placating gesture.

"Now, now, Goku. Calm down. I'm sure if we give it some thought, a solution will present itself. " turning to face Aya, he continued, "But in the mean time, I think that maybe we should talk about a few things. I'm sure you need to get acquainted with that body, and we need to make sure you aren't going to kill us in our sleep." Here Aya's scowl deepened. Hakkai raised his hands again.

"Just precaution, you understand. We don't really know anything about you, and you're in Sanzo's body. If you would please take the sutra from around your neck and give it to me?" Aya looked down at his shoulders and spied the teal and black sutra he'd noticed in the bathroom. Taking it off carefully, he rolled it up and handed it to Goku. Goku looked at him with impossibly wide eyes. Turning, he handed the scripture to Hakkai. Hakkai took it, and smiling, pocketed it in his shirt. He turned a polite, friendly expression onto Aya.

"Well, you handed that over with no problem, so I don't think there's going to be much of an issue here. " the healer said jovially. Goku was still staring at Aya with huge eyes and the swordsman noticed that the man leaning against the wall had his full attention. He scowled angrily.

"What? It's just a sutra, for crying out loud. I mean it's sacred, but I have no need for it. It's not like I know how to even _read _it." Goku looked ready to faint. Hakkai and Gojyo blinked at him. Aya's scowl deepened, and he crossed his arms over his chest angrily. At length, Goku suddenly burst into tears, falling to his knees and wrapping his arms around 'Sanzo's' knees.

"Waahhh! I want Sanzo!" Aya looked positive ready to kill him. The tell tale twitching of a blond eyebrow marked the warning. Hakkai gently peeled Goku off of Aya and stood him upright. He looked over at Aya, and Aya scowled at the three of them in a way that wasn't Sanzo-like at all. He didn't know who'd caused this nightmare, but he was going to carve them up slowly when he found them. He wanted Ken. But Ken was with another man. The very thought made Aya's entire jaw twitch and tighten. Hakkai sweat-dropped.

Oh dear. This was going to be fun.

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Wow, so this is a lot harder to write than I thought. I tend to write more serious, angsty stuff, so making this interesting and still keeping it in character is difficult. I can't be too silly with them, like I want to be. (I DID want Ken to burst out with something along the lines of 'You're not the man I married!' but felt it was way too silly. See? I have an odd sense of humor...)

What do you think? Still entertaining? Should I leave off and play somewhere else? Let me know. Anything you want to see happen? They're all going to be involved in swapping bodies, so if there are any situations you'd like me to add in, let me know. So long as it's do-able I'd be more than happy to work it in. Until next-time!

Ja na!


	3. You have just entered the twilight zone

Ok, so here's chapter 3. An apology for the chapter 31 update on Edo—I feel that it was scattered and disjointed after reading it again, and realized that updating both Trading Spaces and Edo at the same time is a bad combo. The more light-hearted genre of Trading was leaking into the somber, tragic air of Edo. Hence the strange ending to the chapter. I'm forcing myself back into the story and will NOT update this story again until I have written a nice, long chapter for Edo. I hope that'll work. Ok, hope you enjoy this—so hard to write…

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_**Trading Spaces, Chapter 3 :**_

_**You Have Just Entered the Twilight Zone**_

Sanzo took a cautious step back; slowly. The demeanor of the two men before him had changed dramatically, and the monk was wondering just what in the hell he was supposed to do _now_. He had no sutra, and no gun; hell, he didn't even have his robes. These guys didn't _look_ like demons, and they didn't _feel_ like demons, although they certainly were hostile enough. A brief scrutiny drew no signs of power limiters, although the man who'd reminded him of Gojyo _was_ wearing an earring on one ear.

Ken took a slow, malicious step forward, his body fairly vibrating with rage.

"I don't know what you Schwartz bastards are planning, but you'd better get the _fuck_ out of Ran's head before I kill you." the brunet growled. Never mind how he was planning on doing that since it was still Ran's body, after all. Yohji took a step closer, backing Ken up non-verbally.

Sanzo cursed, fluidly, but just as things were about to come to blows, a younger, blond head poked its way around the corner.

"Did you guys just say Schwartz?" a lighter, youthful voice inquired, sounding mildly surprised and slightly disbelieving.

"Yeah Omittitchi, we did. Mastermind's got control of Fujimiya's brain, as whacked-out as that sounds." Yohji replied. Omi frowned.

"You guys have been watching too many science fiction movies. There's no _way_ Mastermind could do something like that without being in the immediate area. He'd have to be in _sight_ of Aya-kun." the youth responded, sounding both annoyed and highly skeptical.

"Omi, there's someone else in Ran's head! I swear! He isn't himself! He smoked Yohji's cigarette in two puffs!" Ken yelled back. Omi frowned.

"Aya-kun, are you really stressed out again? That's no reason to start smoking! Yohji, you're being a bad influence on Aya-kun!" Yohji blanched and then looked indignant.

"Hey! He took the damn thing right out of my mouth! It wasn't like I _gave _it to him!" the playboy argued back. Omi looked from Yohji to Aya and back again. He frowned thoughtfully, his entire body coming around the corner now.

"Ok. So something's up, but we don't know what. Aya-kun, are you feeling ok?" the blond pressed slowly. Sanzo, who had squeezed his eyes shut and put a hand to the bridge of his nose, snorted; the vein on his forehead dangerously close to popping. No, he was _not_ feeling ok.

"He's got a headache, and I'm _trying_ to get him to the damn doctor's!" Ken ground out.

Ok, that was it. Lover or not, if this guy took any more liberties with Sanzo's person, including speaking for him or forcing him to do things he had no desire to do, the monk was going to _find_ a gun and _shoot_ him.

"_He_ is right here, _he_ is not going to _any_ fucking doctor's, _he_ does not have a headache, _he_ is _not_ Aya, _and_, he can speak for himself." 'Aya' growled. The room descended into silence. Omi took a deep breath, face palming and wondering what had happened within the last fifteen minutes to make his entire team go nuts. They'd obviously _all_ lost their minds. Maybe it was some sort of gas? Maybe it really _was_ Schwartz, only not in the way that they'd originally thought? Very slowly, and with the utmost of patience, Omi shoved all thoughts of getting any _real_ work done aside, and looked over at Aya who was claiming he wasn't Aya.

"Then if you aren't Aya-kun, who _are_ you?" the youth waited, breath held, for an answer. He wouldn't be surprised if something like 'An-pan Man' came out.

"Genjyo Sanzo Houshi." the red-head replied evenly. Omi stared. That was...original. He hadn't expected _that_. Ken took another step forward, confusion and suspicion plastered all over his face.

"Wait, like one of the five high priests in Buddhism? You know, the guys who're supposed to be close to heaven or some shit like that? They still _have_ those? And I thought _Saiyuki_ was just a Chinese legend anyways." 'Aya' nodded, but frowned at the name _Saiyuki_. What legend…?

Yohji just blinked for a moment before bursting out into fits of hysterical laughter. He clutched his stomach and sank to his knees, tears coming to his eyes.

"You-you mean to tell me, that you _seriously_ think you're some divine guru?" the lanky man managed to gasp out between fits of laughter. "Oh _man_, that's _priceless_! And—and wait, lemme guess—you're looking for a water dragon, a monkey king, and pig, am I right? That's _precious_! Kenken—get the video camera! I think you need to go see a _different_ kind of doctor Aya!" the playboy burst out between guffaws.

Omi looked thoughtful, and Ken, well Ken just looked horrified. He looked like a man about to lose his best friend. Or lover for that matter. Sanzo let out a heavy, aggravated, 'why me' sigh before planting his hand into his face and counting slowly backwards from ten.

"R-an?" Ken croaked, taking a tentative step forward and reaching out one hand. "Is this–does this have something to do with–that headache?" Omi looked suddenly at Ken.

"Headache?" he asked slowly. He looked back at Aya, eyes narrowing in scrutiny, before they widened a fraction.

"Oh Gods." he gasped, as if coming to an epiphany. Yohji stopped laughing, and everyone's attention focused on the youth. "You-you're schizophrenic Aya-kun?" he breathed, shattering the silence. Which wasn't the smartest thing to say, even if Aya really _was_. Ken's face lost all color and Yohji's became somber. Sanzo started counting back from thirty now.

"Shit, Omi. Don't mess with us. Are you serious? How the hell can you tell!" the playboy muttered. The youth nodded.

"If what Ken says is true, then Aya-kun is exhibiting sure signs of a schizophrenic episode–the terrible headache is a warning sign." Omi mumbled. Ken shook his head back and forth slowly, then gradually with more speed, determination etching into his features.

"No. No he isn't. Ran isn't schizoid. He's someone else." the brunet said firmly. Yohji and Omi gave him incredulous looks, while 'Aya' pulled his face from his hand to give Ken a grateful, hopeful look. Seeing the questioning gazes focused on him, Ken pressed on slowly. "Look, he's never shown any 'signs' or had any episodes before, right?" the brunet asked. Omi shook his head.

"Ken, schizophrenics can go for years without ever showing any signs. It just _happens_ sometimes. " he said slowly. Ken shook his head again.

"Bullshit, Omi. There've gotta be more signs than a three-day headache. I thought the symptoms built up over a longer period than that. And isn't he supposed to get all paranoid and hear shit that isn't there?" the brunet pressed. Yohji tilted his head to the side thoughtfully, still on the floor, and Omi frowned. Sanzo decided _not_ to mention his divine conversation with Kanzeon Bosatsu in that case. Deep laughter bounced off the walls around him once more, and Sanzo could feel his temper doing a slow, pressure-cooker type boil. However, he was more than shocked when the three men with him _also_ stopped and looked around as if they'd heard it.

"Holy shit. Did you guys hear that?" Yohji asked, eyes wide. Ken suddenly looked nervous, shoulders hunching in on themselves, as he looked around the room.

"Yeah. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up." he replied. Omi's frown deepened.

"Ok, so perhaps this is more _supernatural_ than we thought..." the youth murmured. Sanzo resisted the urge to smack him. Hadn't he been _saying_ something along those lines? Ken gave Omi a frustrated look.

"I freaking _told_ you! Ran's possessed! Nobody believes me about this shit!" he growled, crossing his arms angrily.

"But why would this kind of thing start _now_? This place has never been haunted before..." the youth continued. They all looked thoughtful. Sanzo let loose an angry growl.

"Dammit! That's because your house isn't haunted you idiots! I fucking _told_ you, I'm Genjyo Sanzo, and whoever the hell 'Aya' is, he's probably stuck in _my_ body right now. " the man burst out angrily. He stalked down the stairs, shaking his head back and forth slowly, muttering to himself.

"Fucking cursed...everywhere I go...god-dammned idiots...far as the eye can see….can't even...five minutes...what the hell..." he trailed off as he disappeared into the kitchen. Omi, Ken, and Yohji all looked at each other stupidly.

"So now what do we do?" Yohji asked.

"That's the million-yen question, Yohji-kun." Omi responded. Slowly, they all followed after 'Aya'.

"Why the hell do I feel like I've just walked into a _Twilight Zone_ rerun?" Ken muttered.

"Do-do-do-do, do-do-do-do" Yohji sang at him. Ken favored the lanky playboy with a glare.

"That is _so_ not funny you asshole." he growled, smacking Yohji on the arm.

"Ow, that _hurt_ you bastard!" Yohji spat. Ken let half of his mouth curl up into a grin.

"Well, we know this ain't a dream then." he replied. Yohji smacked him back.

"There, now we know for _sure_." he muttered as Ken grumbled, rubbing his arm. Omi rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. Why was _he_ always the one who had the exclusive privilege of remaining sane in a house full of mad-men?

OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOooooOOOoooOOO

As it turned out, 'Aya' held the same dislike of people Sanzo had, however, this dislike did not stem to frequent insults, snappy comebacks, or violent outbursts. Instead, it manifested in a quiet, stoic temperament, in which often no more than a two or three word reply could be pried from the man's mouth. Aya rarely, if ever, spoke, and usually only if first spoken to. He was civil, when he did speak, however, which came as somewhat of a relief. And somehow, the silent stretches with the man were not awkward. Aya tended to mind his own business and leave others to theirs.

After the initial explanation of who Aya was supposed to be, and who he _actually_ was, the man had said he felt it best if they continued with the mission West, as he didn't know how long he would be in Sanzo's body (much to Goku's dismay), and the mission probably couldn't wait. Luckily, the man knew how to use a gun well enough, which was a relief to Hakkai's mind. So, they'd started back on the road the following morning, after a strange breakfast. Aya read the paper quietly, drinking tea instead of coffee, Sanzo's ever-present cigarette markedly absent. He seemed so much like Sanzo that Gojyo and Goku felt comfortable enough to break out into the first argument of the morning.

Aya said nothing, and did nothing. Hakkai tried a few times to get the two to knock it off, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. Eventually, Aya finished eating and lowered his paper. There was an annoyed, highly exasperated expression on his face as he pulled off his reading glasses and folded them carefully. (Apparently the man was also a neat freak.) He stuck them into his sleeve.

"Since it's obvious you two are done eating, we should go." he said flatly. Gojyo and Goku turned to look at him, protests on their lips. Aya leveled them with what Hakkai could only term a 'glare of death', and both men shut up wisely. Goku shoved a few extra meat buns and dumplings into his bag and they headed out the door, 'Sanzo' moving quiet and ghost-like towards the waiting jeep. He waited patiently as they all climbed in, and climbed into the seat that had been left open for him; the front. There he sat and proceeded to continue reading the paper as they drove off, never mind the wind in his face or the squabbling in the back seat. Hakkai sighed. He missed Sanzo already. Despite the temper, the man at least kept Gojyo and Goku quiet a good portion of the time. He concluded that Aya was probably an insanely patient man...

Fifteen minutes after lunch proved him wrong.

"Dammit you filthy perv! Gimmie back my meat bun!"

"Hah! You _still_ haven't learned? I _told_ you, dipshit, your name ain't on it, so it ain't yours!"

"_I'm_ the one who took it from the inn you stupid roach! I'm the one who gets to eat it! You want meat buns go find your own, dumbass!"

"Che, like _that_ matters! That just makes it stolen! And in case you haven't noticed, we're in ass-fuck nowhere! How the hell am I supposed to get any food out here?"

"That's not my problem you perv! And it is _not_ stolen! We paid for it, you stupid kappa! I don't steal, unlike _some_ people!"

"What the hell are you tryin' to say little ape? You callin' me a theif?"

"Hell yes! _And _a cheat! You pink-haired perv!"

"Red, monkey-boy, RED!"

"Hah! Don't call me a stinkin' monkey you stupid kappa!"

"Then don't call my hair _pink_ baby chimp!"

"I'll call it whatever I want, you filthy cockroach!"

"I'd like to see you–"

Hakkai watched, out of his peripheral vision as suddenly, Aya lowered the paper very, very slowly. Behind the newsprint was the face of a man who looked ready to explode. Ah. So silence did not _necessarily_ mean patience. The healer supposed it had just taken a bit to get the man riled. Aya turned and pinned Hakkai with a 'look'.

"Stop.The.Car." he growled. Obediently, Hakkai slammed on the brakes. Gojyo and Goku went flying into the front seat, landing rather painfully, argument effectively, if temporarily ended.

"What the fuck? Hakkai! You tryin' ta kill us or _what_?" Gojyo growled. The healer chuckled.

"Sa-er...Aya asked me to stop." he offered in reply. Everyone turned to look at the stoic man only to find the seat empty. They blinked.

"Holy shit! He's _gone_!" the half-breed muttered.

"There!" Goku yelled out, pointing to a familiar white-robed form walking a distance away on the same road. They piled out of jeep and ran to catch up.

"Naa! Aya! Whatcha doin'? We're supposed to be on the road until the next town!" Goku called, first to arrive. Aya turned and regarded him with another 'death glare', one blond eyebrow twitching.

"Hn." was his reply.

"What the fuck are you doin' man? Taking a walk? _Now_?" Aya paused and turned, the death glare now sub-zero. They all took a step back, eyes wide. Whoa. That was a new and rather terrifying expression on Sanzo's face.

"I'm _not_ going _anywhere_ with you two idiots." he ground out. "Hakkai, god-speed." he grunted, turning to go. Somehow, the healer felt betrayed. Why was it suddenly _his_ job to manage Gojyo and Goku? The brunet had a new appreciation suddenly for Sanzo's former management of both Kappa and Monkey. The man really _had_ been good with animals. Goku looked crest fallen. Gojyo looked annoyed.

"You don't have much of a choice pal." he growled. Aya met his glare with another frosty one of his own.

"Hn." was all he replied, walking down the road again. Gojyo sputtered.

"Hey! Where the hell do you think you're going? You can't leave!" Hakkai rolled his eyes and sighed heavily, putting his face in his hand. He had _known_ this was going to be difficult, to say the least. Gojyo sounding like a twelve year old wasn't helping anything.

"Can't we discuss this Aya?" he asked levelly. Goku just watched with wide eyes. Aya paused, turning to look at Hakkai over his shoulder.

"If I have to sit", he began," for another minute, with the racket those two are making, I'm going to do something _you'll _regret. " he spat out. Gojyo snorted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'd like to see you _try_." he spat out. The half-breed normally didn't get along with Sanzo, and so having someone else in the man's body seemed to be trying the kappa's patience. Aya stopped, body stiffening. He turned slowly.

"_Don't_ tempt me." he replied, voice dangerously low. Hakkai tensed. Instincts were telling him these were dangerous waters Gojyo was treading upon. Gojyo snorted again.

"Che. Like you _could._" he returned. Aya's glare got colder. Before anyone could react, the man was moving quickly, down the path towards Gojyo. At the last moment, he feinted right, coming up behind the kappa. A quick strike to the back of the neck and the half-breed went down heavily, unconscious. 'Sanzo' stood in his wake, cracking his knuckles. Goku jumped back, Nyoibo out and ready, but Hakkai only stood by placidly. It was a move he often used, and he knew it caused no damage other than a severe headache that would probably keep Gojyo silent for a good period. Aya shrugged.

"He was irritating me." he said simply. Hakkai nodded, smiling sunnily. Goku just blinked, looking slightly nervous. Deciding he didn't want to share in Gojyo's experience, the monkey eventually decided to keep silent.

Much to Hakkai's surprise, Aya hefted Gojyo up and began walking slowly towards the jeep with him. The healer came around Aya's other side, helping him bear the weight. The stoic man nodded in thanks and they set Gojyo into the back of the jeep carefully. Nodding again, this time seemingly to himself, Aya climbed back into the front seat. He remained silent as the others piled in and Hakkai started jeep up again. Instead of the peace the lack of argument should have brought, only a tense, untrusting silence hung in the air. Questions of both the new man's skills and morals pressed heavily on both Goku and Hakkai.

However, he didn't seem intent on using those skills unless pushed to the limits of his patience. Hakkai had a feeling that if he were a spy or an assassin, they'd already be dead. Only this evening would tell. Hakkai would have to keep watch to make sure they weren't murdered in their sleep.

He wondered, idly, where Sanzo was at the moment, and whether or not he was alright. If anything had happened to the monk, there would be hell to pay. The healer clenched his hands around the wheel in a white knuckled grip while Goku idly watched the trees fly by in a bored fashion. Aya continued to read the paper.

OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOooooOOOoooOOO

Whew! Ok, another update. This gets harder to write every chapter. If it's getting dull, just let me know. Now that things have settled a bit, I'm hoping they'll start picking up. (I.e. Sanzo and Ran get corrected only to have someone else switch on them—eventually leading into chaos, I hope.)

Jan a for now!


	4. Where the Hell did THAT come from!

_**Trading Spaces**_

_**Chapter 4 :**_

**_Where the Hell Did_ That_ Come From?_**

He was tired. So damn tired. This whole bloody mishap seemed to be headed straight to hell. He'd been banished from the flower shop after his first hour, deemed a force worse than Ken at his absolute _worst_. Apparently that was saying something. Judging by the fact that in the hour he'd _been_ in the flower shop Ken had broken two pots and nearly dropped a large fichus tree after picking it up when it was too heavy for him, being declared worse than Ken was a major insult. It wasn't _his_ fault he didn't know jack about being a florist. He had some of Aya's flimsy memories to go on, and not much else. Who'd have thought that extinguishing his cigarette butts in the pot of geraniums next to the register was a bad thing to do? Really, Sanzo extinguished his cigarettes in foliage all the time. It was just leaves and paper. Didn't that make good fertilizer?

But at least now he didn't have to work. Or go to the doctor's. The youth whose name he'd learned was Omi had led him up into his own apartment and backed out cautiously with instructions that he yell should he need _anything_ at all. The implied idea was that Sanzo shouldn't leave the premises. If he'd had anywhere to go, he'd have gone already, just to spite them. Certainly, Aya's surface memory contained knowledge of parks and coffee shops, but Sanzo had seen glimpses of a great city beyond the flower shop window, and he had no desire to tempt fate by running out into the crush, no matter how pissed off he was.

And he was, royally, pissed-off. Royally. Kanzeon Bosatsu was going to _pay_ for this. Dearly. The man called Yohji had been generous enough to donate several packs of cigarettes when he'd learned that Sanzo was addicted to nicotine, with a flippant comment along the lines of 'gotta help a brother out'. Whatever. Ken looked alarmed at the idea that he was going to be smoking, but a well placed glare seemed enough to quiet him. For now. Sanzo didn't doubt that he'd be back later.

There was interesting food in Aya's place, a lot of marine-type creatures, and it was quiet, the light pleasantly diffused. Sanzo had poked around idly, looking at books and what not, and trying to piece together the life of his counter part. After all, if he was going to be sharing the man's body, he had some right to know, didn't he? Sanzo scowled at the thought of another man poking through his own sore, painful memories. Dammit. Someone had better fix this mess, and _soon_. He was getting tired of being treated like a mental patient, and he sure as hell was getting grumpy about the fact that someone else was in his body, with his gun, and, gods help them all, the _sutra_. He hoped that one of those idiots had the presence of mind to get the sutra away from him. Or whoever was in his body, anyways.

Idly, Sanzo found himself thinking of Goku. He wondered how the saru was faring. After all, if he wasn't around to discipline the damn chimp, who else was going to do it? And suddenly, Sanzo was a bit more eager to have this mess straightened out. With a sigh, he flopped back onto the simple, pristine bed. The bed conspicuously absent of any annoying, clingy brunet lovers.

Last night he'd absolutely denied Ken entrance to his apartment. There was no _way_ he was dealing with that if he didn't have to. The brunet hadn't wanted to sleep in his bed so much as he'd wanted to keep an eye on him and make sure that he didn't 'hurt' Ran's body in anyway. Snorting, the monk inhaled deeply on his cigarette. Stupid bastard.

But that had been a whole morning and evening ago, and as much as he hated to admit it, Sanzo was getting _bored_. Big time. Most of the books Aya owned were written in languages that the monk had never heard of, let alone read. There had been one or two books in a scholar's Chinese that he _vaguely_ recognized, one of them being some nonsense about the _Tao_, and another being some kind of tail about a monk, a monkey, a pig, and a water dragon. He hadn't read the rudimentary introduction beyond that. Although somehow the premise seemed familiar.

After that, there was nothing. He'd tried to read the newspaper from what appeared to be the day he'd probably been shoved into this god-forsaken reality, but again, it was in a language he'd hardly understood. He'd recognized some of the characters well enough, but their placing made no sense to him; utter gibberish.

As far as he could tell, he'd been in this reality for three days. _Three days_, without so much as a by-your-leave from anyone, including the old hag herself. Three damn days he'd sat in this place, picking at food, listening to a strange language on the radio, rifling through books and the occasional magazine. The highlight of his torment had been the discovery of an art book with a title written in strange characters he'd never seen before. Inside, there were smooth, page-sized pictures of distorted and tortured images that made no sense; watches, warped and limp, animals with long, skinny legs-impossibly tall, faces that _looked_ humanoid, but like no interpretation of humans he'd ever seen. After about twenty minutes of being fascinated in a borderline disgusted manner, Sanzo had closed the book with an audible snap and shoved it back in it's place on the shelf. He hadn't liked the way it had resonated with something inside of him.

He was in his third round of pacing and chain smoking, when he finally spied _it_ in the corner. Leaning against the wall, propped there so innocently, black and then and shining dully. Blaming the boredom, the monk stalked over and crouched before it, not touching, but leaning in carefully, like a stray animal sniffing warily at the prospect of a full supper. It felt….well, Sanzo didn't know _how_ to explain the feeling, only that it _had_ a feeling. Maybe mildly like demon magic, with the exception that it didn't feel _evil_ persay; more _dark_ and _morbid_.

His fingers were grasping the tip of it before he could blink or understand what he was doing. A jolt of sensation shot up his arm as his fingers touched cold metal of what the monk now understood to be a sword. His hand grasped the slim hilt, and he was assaulted by a nightmare vision in blacks and reds, roaring and screaming filling his ears.

Panting, Sanzo jolted backwards, coming-to to find himself sprawled on his ass, the sword innocently tipped on it's side, hilt facing him. Scooting backwards a bit, the priest scowled in thought, lighting another cigarette. So the damn pansy kept a demonic sword in his room? Did he wield it? Could he? Sanzo eyed the weapon with ill-concealed suspicion. Carefully, he reached out, wrapping pale fingers around the hilt once more. He closed his mind ruthlessly against the light show this time, and slowly, carefully, pulled the blade from the scabbard. This time, he was unable to stop the vision that assaulted his brain.

_It was raining; pouring. Always raining, always the same. He lay, paralyzed, in pain, pinned beneath the rubble of what had been his own home only scant minutes ago. _

_And **Aya**. Aya was there too. Always the same. Always coming for him, reaching out to him. Always he struggled; against the pain, to freedom, to save her. To save her from the demons, from himself. _

_And always, he would hear the roar of well-oiled gears, fine-quality machinery purring and crooning so deceptively. Always he would call out to her, reaching and reaching while she seemed to fly farther and farther away. _

_Always, she looked up, paralyzed in the oncoming headlights. _

_And always, he would hear her screaming, see that body, that beautiful body, those brilliant, vibrant eyes, flying, falling, dying. And she would land, so close and yet so far, with a sound that vibrated through the ground and into his heart. _

_And always, the monster drove away. _

_And left him. _

_In the pouring rain. _

_And the silence. _

_Ran Fujimiya threw his head back, and screamed as he died. _

_To be reborn again._

_In blood. _

_Alone._

When Sanzo was thrust back into himself, he came-to violently, gasping like he hadn't been breathing for several minutes. Perhaps he hadn't. A sharp pain had him looking down, and he started at the sight of his own blood. Hastily, he dropped the sword as he recognized that he'd been gripping the blade tightly.

Cursing, Sanzo turned, rising to clean himself up when the door chose that precise moment to unlock itself and open. Ken stood on the other side, a cocky grin spread across his features.

"_Knew_ those were a spare set of keys…" he muttered to himself, tucking a large key-ring into his pocket. He turned just in time to see Sanzo standing in the front hall on his way to the bathroom, Ran's violet eyes wide and startled in an expression Ken rarely saw unless his lover felt vulnerable and unsure about something. His eyes traced down at a small _'splat'_ sound to find the man bleeding. The sight of his lover's hand red and injured moved Ken into action.

"Shit! What the hell is _wrong_ with you? I said not to hurt him! Isn't smoking enough?" before Sanzo could answer, he found himself shoved roughly and hurriedly into the bathroom where somehow Ken managed to shove him so that he sat on the toilet seat. (Another fine invention Sanzo hadn't seen before, but thoroughly appreciated. He did not, however, like the fact that the seat was heated…)

"What the hell do you think you're _doing_?" the monk hissed. But Ken was already pulling down the first aid kit and opening it up.

"Shut the hell up. It's bad enough you're in Ran's body and _smoking_, I'm _not_ going to let his hand get all infected and further damaged because you have some ass-nine idea that you don't need anyone to take care of it." The brunet growled. "This ain't your body pal. I don't care if you normally take bullet wounds without help, I'm sure as hell not going to let you wreck Ran's body while you're at it. So just shut the hell up and sit still."

Sanzo fumed. He growled and grit his teeth. That was _it_. Balling the fingers of his free hand into a fist, he pulled his arm back and let into Ken's jaw so hard the younger man actually fell backwards, crashing into the door-frame. Plaster crumbled and dust drifted into dark brown locks. Relief was almost immediate. The monk sighed contentedly and leaned back against the toilet tank.

Ken sat up slowly, fingers tentatively prodding at his jaw. Wincing, and with a precise movement, the brunet grabbed it and lurched it viciously back and to the right. It made a sickening pop noise, but then suddenly looked much better. Sanzo frowned. He hadn't meant to dislocate the man's _jaw_ for crying out loud. Shaking his head and brushing the plaster from his hair and clothing, the brunet stood, wobbling slightly.

"Are you better now?" he ground out in a flat voice. Sanzo favored him with a slightly smug, bored look.

"Yes." he replied just as evenly.

"Good. Then can I take care of that?" the brunet finished, gesturing towards his still bleeding hand. Sanzo stared. Hard.

"Are you really _that_ much of an idiot! I just punched you and you wanna make nice and take care of my freaking _booboo_?" Ken's jaw ground tighter at the mockery, but he refused to rise to the bait.

"You wanna fist-fight someone, wait until you're back in your own fucking body. Now if you don't fucking mind, you _happen_ to be in the body of the man I _love_, and call me stupid, but I refuse to hit him when he's technically done nothing wrong. So you either let me see to that, or I fucking tie you down and do it anyways. And don't think I can't do it, because I _will_." So saying, Ken reached again for the first-aid box.

Sanzo said nothing. He figured he'd already gotten the guy pretty damn good, and if Ken wasn't going to fight back, then there wasn't any sport in it, even if he wasn't going to verbally concede. Besides, if the monk had to hear any more damn self-righteous, sentimental speeches, he might choke on the sap. And damn if having someone take his violence so seriously wasn't fucking royally with his head. Sanzo told himself it was the visions and left it at that.

Ken finished and rose woodenly, without a word, and packed the kit up. Storing it in it's place, he walked out into the main room. His body tensed when he saw the sword, but without a word, he crossed to it, pulled a small, white cloth from the shelf nearby and wiped the blood clean. Carefully, he sheathed the blade and pulled the sword to his chest reverently. He didn't look at Sanzo as he left carrying the weapon.

The door closed quietly after him. Sanzo cussed and flopped back on the bed. Before he realized it, he fell into a dreamless sleep.

OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO

Aya had been dozing peacefully, the recently tense silence he seemed to evoke having finally strained his last nerve to the point that he was exhausted from trying so hard not to hit someone.

Despite his earlier trip into lala land, Gojyo seemed to take Aya less and less seriously, going out of his way to piss the stoic man off. Of course, all of this _after_ Hakkai warned him not to push it. Now, the healer gave Gojyo a warning _glare_, masked by a polite smile, as the half-breed was reaching out to prod yet again at the stranger living in Sanzo's body. This time, Goku joined Hakkai and grabbed Gojyo's wrist.

"Give it a rest dumbass!" he growled.

"Oh, are you sticking up for him now?"

"What if I _am_?"

"Stupid ape! He ain't Sanzo!"

"So?"

"So why the hell are you sticking up for him, dipshit!"

"Because he's freaking _scary_ when he's pissed off! He knocked you out! Doesn't that make you at _least_ little nervous or nothin'?"

"Che. _Please_. That little display was all show. And besides, I wasn't expecting him to be that ballsy."

"Freaking pervert kappa! He _knocked you out cold_!"

"He did not!"

"Dude, you were out for two hours!"

"_And_? I was tired!"

"Bull_shit_! You were _so_ unconscious!"

"I was _not_! Not for two hours anyway."

"Uh-_huh_…"

"And how the hell could you tell the difference _anyways_, you stupid chimp?"

"Cause I poked you all through the second hour." :snicker:

"What? Is _that_ where that bruise came from? You freaking little _shit_! That _hurts_!"

"Hey, don't blame _me_ if your pervert kappa skin is so delicate. Maybe you should hang out in the sun longer? Unless of course, your dainty complexion can't take it…"

"Are you callin' me a pansy, monkey-cub?"

"I didn't say it, _you_ did…And dammit! Stop calling me a monkey you pervert!"

"_Make_-me."

"Alright, I will. _Pansy_."

"_What_? Come over _here_ and say that, dumbass."

"With _pleasure,_ dipshit!"

"…." Alright, that was _it_. Reaching into his sleeve, Aya pulled out the lovely little object he'd found about fifteen minutes ago; a large, white, _harisen_. Raising his arm, he turned, and glaring at the two imbeciles in the back with the fury of Hell in his eyes, he walloped them both on their sorry, thick skulls. _Hard._

"If you two don't shut. The hell. Up, I'm going to make you _both_ very, _very_ sorry. Got it?"

Gojyo and Goku peered up at him, still rubbing their sore heads. Hakkai sighed pleasantly; the reappearance of the infamous harisen was almost a relief. Actually, hell, it _was_ a relief. It felt so….normal.

"What the _hell_ did you do that for, you freaking corrupt monk?"

"Ow! Ya didn't have to hit so _hard_!"

"Hn." was Aya's reply, as he turned around and sat back down contentedly, clearly much less stressed than moments ago. Although Hakkai realized that Sanzo's usually witty threat was missing. Oh well. One couldn't ask for everything he supposed.

In the back seat, Gojyo and Goku were sulking, arms crossed and facing away from each other. The healer couldn't help but smirk.

"Ahh, what a peaceful day it is." Aya snorted and attempted to go back to dozing.

It was three hours, ten arguments, and about twenty or so whacks later that the demons attacked. Aya was shocked at first. It was too surreal to reach his fogged-over brain. Sanzo's brief memories had involved demons, but seeing them himself was completely different.

The other three leapt out of the jeep and into action. They'd already gone through this. The best plan was for Aya to stay armed and ready in the jeep, but not to charge into the fray. Aya was just fine with this plan. He had no plans to accidentally die while in the body of another man.

Instead, he watched the others battle with a smooth, calculated gaze; occasionally appraising or impressed, but mostly a smooth assessment of abilities should he ever find himself against any of these men. All of them were strong. But they each moved so differently.

Goku, the brown-haired, golden-eyed youth moved wildly. His movements bespoke an entity who relished in the feel of battle the way a child relishes the realm of play. Instead of soccer or baseball, Goku's bit of fun and sport seemed to be battle, and he moved accordingly. All of his steps were sure, but just the slightest bit unplanned; the way a runner or offensive player moves towards a goal steadily, using any means to reach it, an almost careless air about him. He fought with a long, pink staff, tipped with a gold sphere at each end, and seemed to use it as more than a weapon; it seemed an integral part of his fighting style and movements.

Gojyo, fought with a staff as well, however, this staff appeared to be more of a glaive. Aya recognized it as a _shakujyo_; a weapon of Chinese origin, double bladed. On the bottom was a heavy, curved blade, almost similar to an axe blade, whereas the crescent blade on top was detachable; connected by a long chain to the main part of the weapon. Aya didn't know much about them, but he knew enough to know that they were damn heavy and often difficult to wield. The lanky half-breed fought in a manner close to Yohji's, with the exception that while Yohji often fought in a cocky manner, he almost _never_ looked like he enjoyed it. Gojyo, like Goku, looked like he was enjoying himself immensely, confident and arrogant that he was far more skilled than any fighter present.

Hakkai fought with a smile on his face, but appeared neither to hate nor love the battle. He handled his enemies in a business-like way, and periodically checked on his teammates to be certain they were doing well. Out of the three, Aya passed his guess that if angered into a confrontation, Hakkai had the potential to be most deadly. The polite smile did nothing to hide the razor edge to his movements or gaze. The green eyes were smooth and calculating, transforming chaos and spontaneity into a field of equations and probability statistics. Nothing moved past him. The man fought usuing some sort of martial-arts, and some-how seemed to be able to control his energy, manipulating it into cannon-ball sized starbursts of light that were capable of eradicating a great deal of the enemy at once. Further observation revealed the man could use such an ability to shield himself and others.

"Aya-san!" Aya jolted out of his musings, head snapping around to acknowledge Hakkai's yelling of his name. Too late. Something had made it past the healer and was headed directly for him. Without a thought, face ice-calm and stoic, Aya reached for the gun he knew was hidden in his robes, ignoring the jolt that slid up his arm as he wrapped his finger around the trigger. Without blinking, he leveled the weapon, and fired it. The demon running for him exploded in a spray of red and fell lifelessly to the ground, but Aya remained frozen, eyes wide and gun still hovering in the air as the electrifying sensation swept up his arm and into his brain, taking hold of his consciousness…

_Always, it was the same. _

_His Master's final wish granted, the demons stormed in, demanding the sutra. And always, Komyu stood in front of him, arms spread wide, sleeves pure and fluttering like broken wings. _

_Always, Koryuu watched, could only watch, while his master, his savior, his teacher, and his **father**__the only man who Koryuu had ever felt so deeply for, was struck down in a flash of silver and a spray of red. Always, he watched the demons leave, unable to move, to cry out, to chase them and take his revenge, his master's revenge, the sutra. Always._

_He simply stood. The pain too much to bear or understand, leaving him raw and numb and unable to interpret what his eyes had just told him; what his brain had just acknowledged, but what his heart could not understand. _

_And just like that, the darkness came. The silence settled. And in the split second before the footsteps pounded to the door, in the moment before the crime was discovered, Koryuu realized that it hadn't mattered. Nothing he felt mattered. Because he hadn't been able to protect the one that he loved. From the monsters. From himself. And in that moment, Koryuu died. _

_To be reborn again._

_In blood. _

_Alone. _

"Aya-san!"

Aya gasped deeply, like a man who'd just been underwater, and stared uncomprehendingly at Hakkai's worried face.

"Aya-san…?" Aya nodded blankly, feeling disoriented. The healer sighed in relief, and Goku nearly fell forward in his own relief.

"Oh man! That was _scary_! What happened! You ok?" the youth questioned, leaning into his personal space. Aya scowled and leaned back.

"I…don't know. I fired the gun and then I was someplace else." he said simply.

Gojyo snorted, lighting a cigarette. Hakkai frowned in his concern yet polite manner.

"Err….Aya-san…Was that the…first time you've killed…anyone?" he asked tentatively. Aya gave him a death glare for good measure.

"No." he said simply. The healer nodded.

"Then….do you know _why_ this happened?" he pushed. Aya's scowl deepened. He was so tired suddenly. It was making him irritable.

"No."

"Ah. I see. Well, if you're sure you're alright, then we best head on. I don't think sticking around here is a good idea."

"Hn." Aya grunted his consent and rose shakily, clambering into the jeep. Gojyo passed on the opportunity to anger the man, instead studying him closely. _Something_ had happened alright. And he was going to find out what. He'd have to grill Hakkai about it later. For now, however, he situated himself in the back and dug through his bag for the jerky he _knew_ he'd placed there the last visit they'd made to town. Ten minutes and no jerky later, an angry kappa turned to confront an innocent-looking monkey. Hakkai winced as World War…well, he'd lost count, actually, started. Thankfully, Aya had already managed to be sucked into a deep dreamless sleep before the argument _really_ got underway. Hakkai sighed.

He wondered how Sanzo would feel if _he_ started threatening the two of them with chi blasts….

OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO

Wai! Chapter four finished! So busy with the going-home prep stuff! Hope Edo will be up soon!

Had some angst in this chapter, as a plot actually kind of came to me suddenly. Because honestly, there was no plot involved in this madness when it began. Just the result of one of those 'what if' questions that mean I have entirely too much free time. (Well, not any more anyways…) So hopefully the plot will finish developing. In the mean time, I hope you enjoyed this. This was the last Sanzo n' Aya chapter for now. Next up, Gojyo and Yohji. Hehe. Fun fun!

Ja na!


	5. Home again Home again, or not

When Aya woke up, he experienced a moment of brief disorientation. Instead of being stooped in the passenger side of the jeep and listening to Gojyo and Goku argue behind him, he was laying in a very familiar bed, staring up at a blank white ceiling.

With a start, Aya shot upwards, running a hand through red, blessedly familiar locks and squinting about himself in the streetlight filtering through his blinds. He was still in whatever outfit he'd worn that day. But he didn't remember putting it on. Frowning thoughtfully, the red-head flexed his hands in discomfort as he tried to figure out whether or not he'd dreamed the whole thing. He started when pain stabbed up his arm from his palm and peered down at his hand.

It was bandaged; in a slightly sloppy yet functional way that meant Ken had done it. Aya didn't remember hurting himself like this. And he certainly didn't remember Ken bandaging him. He always paid attention when Ken bandaged him. It made him feel….well, nice. Watching the top of the brunet's head while calloused, tan hands that shook slightly carefully wrapped gauze and applied medical tape. Followed always by the anxious 'Does that hurt?'. Even if it did, Aya always assured he felt fine, if only to see the happy relief in brown eyes. Sometimes, it amazed Aya that Ken could be a murderer. The man had been wronged horribly by this life.

And thinking of Ken—the brunet was nowhere to be found. A quick glance at the bedside clock assured him it was past midnight—the time that they should both be in bed. Together. Suddenly eager to see his lover, Aya rose and quietly left his own apartment. Creeping into the back hallway that connected all of their apartments, Aya made his way to Ken's and knocked lightly.

To his surprise (Ken was, afterall, a heavy sleeper…), the door opened immediately. Ken stood on the other side, looking grumpy and disheveled. His lips were pressed in a thin line, and there were dark circles beneath his eyes that indicated he hadn't been sleeping. Wondering what had happened to his lover, (and not with any small amount of concern…) Aya called out to him tentatively.

"…Ken…?" the response was instantaneous; Aya nearly wilted beneath the iron-hard gaze he received.

"Yes?" spoken through grit teeth, the reply was cold and angry. The stoic man frowned.

"What the hell is your problem? What did I do _now_? And why is my hand bandaged? It hurts like a damn bitch." he growled, anger rising in defense of the fear and hurt he felt at being on the receiving end of a gaze and tone usually reserved for their enemies. Ken blinked. And blinked again. Owlishly. His expression changed slightly, hope sparking through.

"R-Ran?" he murmured, unsure of himself. Aya crossed his arms, scowling.

"Who the hell else would I be?" he muttered. Ken made a funny sound that was halfway between a laugh and a cough and glomped him tightly.

"Oh Ran! Shit! Don't ever do that to me again!" and Aya found himself dragged into the biohazard known as Ken's room as the brunet mumbled incoherently about everything that he'd apparently missed. Including complaints of attitude and sleeping alone and smoking. Wait. Back up. He'd been smoking? That explained the horrible breath and queasy feeling in his stomach. He fixed Ken with a puzzled gaze.

"Why the hell would I smoke? Did something happen that I don't remember?" Ken made a face.

"You- you don't know?" he sounded upset. Aya's gaze turned into a frown.

"No, I don't. What am I supposed to know?" Ken made an exasperated sound.

" Ran, you were somebody else for three damn days! You don't remember being in someone else's body?" Aya gasped softly and went still. He…hadn't been dreaming? It had been real? Was he in some kind of alternate dimension? Maybe he had died and hell was fucking with him?

"Ran…?"

"I…I do remember. I thought I was dreaming." he murmured.

"You weren't dreaming. I've got the damn bruise and bloody sleepless nights to prove it." Ken growled, crossing his arms. Aya's eyes widened.

"Bruise…?" he trailed off before scowling.

"That bastard _hurt_ you? Let me see it!" Without waiting for Ken to reply, Aya shoved him to the only part of the house that wasn't dirty—the kitchen, and turned on the light. It flickered into neon existence with a guttered flashing that steadied into a solid source of illumination. Ken had indeed been hurt. There was a large, angry bruise marring his cheek and down along part of his jaw bone. The entire area was swollen. The red-head hissed a breath between his teeth sympathetically.

"Did you ice it?" he murmured. Ken winced as he prodded the darker areas gently to make sure nothing was broken or fractured.

"No…" he mumbled. Aya scowled at him.

"Why the hell not?"

"I was too pissed ok? I went out to the park and kicked my soccer ball around until like an hour ago. At least I popped it back into place!" the brunet growled back. Aya's scowl darkened considerably.

"Popped it back into….Well, we're going to take care of it _now_. And you're going to tell me everything that happened while that frigging bastard was in my body. _Don't_ leave anything out. You can't lie anyways, so I'll _know_. Then we're both going to bed, because I have a feeling we'll need it." Ken nodded, smiling.

"Together, right?" Aya looked at him, mildly surprised.

"Of course."

And Ken sighed in relief and let Aya lead him anywhere he wanted. Right now, he wasn't asking any questions. Somehow, Ran had been returned to him. He'd worry about the how and the why of it later. _Way_ later. Like after he screwed that lithe body into his mattress…

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When Sanzo woke up with a stiff neck and sore back from hunching over in a moving vehicle, to the sounds of Goku and Gojyo arguing loudly, he'd never felt more relieved in his life. The squabbling was nearly a welcomed sound. Of course, silence would have been better, but he wasn't going to complain. However…

"Che—like you can deny it you friggin' perv—your hair is _pink_!"

"RED, you god-dammned little shit, and if you call my friggin' hair pink ONE MORE TIME…."

"What the hell are you gonna do about it, you pink-haired pansy?"

"I'm gonna fucking kick your ass you little butt-sniffing monkey!"

"I'd like to see you _try_, you dog-paddling kappa!"

"I _don't_ dog paddle, you damn ape!"

"Then what _do_ you call it, dumbass?"

"That's not the point!"

"Of _course_ that's the point! You can't friggin' _swim_!"

"I can swim better than a puny monkey-punk any day!"

"Yeah right!"

"Bring it---"

And the argument was disturbed by a sound that was music to Hakkai's ears…

_BANG BANG BANG_

"You won't have to worry about swimming when dead—you'll float…" Sanzo growled, putting his gun away. Gojyo and Goku simply stared at him in silent shock. Hakkai began chuckling good-naturedly.

"Good to feel your aura again, Sanzo." the healer said with a smile. Sanzo snorted.

"I'd say the feeling is mutual but those two idiots back there give me cause to bite my tongue." the priest growled. Hakkai smiled sunnily.

"Ah-hah. I must say I've missed your fan terribly. The last occupant in your body didn't seem to have quite the knack of it."

"Ch. I'm sure he didn't, damn friggin' pansy." so saying, Sanzo lit his first blessed Marlborough Red and inhaled deeply. "Shit, this' been a friggin' week from hell…" the monk trailed off.

"SANZO!" said monk found his air-supply cut-off by one idiotic monkey. Choking on his cigarette, he just managed to grab his fan and wallop the kid on the head.

"DAMMIT you stupid monkey! Are you _trying_ to strangle me?" he yelled as Goku rubbed his head in annoyance.

"Well well, the great Sanzo-sama finally makes reappearance after his great _disappearing_ act. You wanna explain? Or should we just guess?" this from Gojyo, casually leaning against the side panel of jeep from his seat in the back. A vein pulsed dangerously on Sanzo's forehead. An eyebrow twitched.

"Death…." the monk managed to grind out. Hakkai laughed nervously.

"Aha ha. Now, now. I'm sure we all missed Sanzo. We'll be in town in fifteen minutes, and then we can all have a nice dinner and a talk together. Until then, please avoid getting blood on jeep's interior Sanzo." With a snort, Sanzo relaxed into his seat, leaning his head back against the headrest and falling into a light doze. Silence reigned; for once. And Hakkai could not have been happier.

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Things seemed to return to normal for a painfully short time. The morning after—well, the _afternoon_ after he'd mysteriously made his reappearance, Aya had proceeded to detail, in his own neat, efficient way, where he had been and what had happened to him during his 'vacation'. Each member of Weiss had digested it in his own way, and in the end, they had gone their separate ways, all the while considering the possibilities behind this kind of weird supernatural mishap. Aya had also left them with a final warning that this was probably not over, which had Ken clinging to his side like a leech in panic. Aya had borne the annoyance stoically, which Omi could appreciate. They'd all seen the rather ugly bruise on Ken's face at the meeting and he was forced to ice it all day, but allowed off shop duty, which he didn't argue with.

Things settled, life moved on, and there was a silent agreeance that NO ONE wanted to talk about what had happened.

But it seemed forgetting about it was out of the question. A fact made starkly clear by a panicked Yohji running down the stairs that evening and into the kitchen, pulling at his hair in a way they'd never have expected Yohji to pull at his hair. Ken, who'd been allowed reprieve from icing his jaw long enough to eat the kimchi soup Omi had made him, was tempted to drawl something like 'Watch the hair…' or something otherwise equally inane in defense of the playboy's uncharacteristic roughness with it. But he ate his kimchi in silence, the spiciness of the food slowly building into unbearable. Ken was too lazy to get himself a glass of milk.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" Yohji yelled. Omi and Ken looked at him calmly.

"That all depends on what you're talking about, Yohji-kun. I've just made Ken some kimchi soup since his jaw's not up for chewing yet. You know how much Ken-kun likes kimchi." the blond youth replied. Normally, what would have followed was a smart remark from Yohji's side about Ken's lack of 'good taste' (Yohji _hated_ kimchi…), but instead, the lanky man's expression turned exasperated.

"I'm in the middle of a crisis and all you can do is eat 'kim-mee', or whatever the hell that crap is?" the brunet bellowed. Now Ken and Omi stared at him.

"Uhh…Yohji…?" there was a slightly garbled sound to Ken's response, evidence of the fact that his jaw still hurt and was probably still swelling. Omi frowned at the brunet and then turned back to Yohji—maybe. After Aya, he wasn't so sure anymore.

"My name is Gojyo!" 'Yohji' yelled. Ken and Omi nodded at the same time and said "Ahh." Ken turned towards the stairs.

"Hey Ran!" his jaw made a small popping noise and Ken stopped yelling, putting a hand to it delicately. "Ow…" he muttered. Omi sighed in exasperation and got up.

"I'll get him Ken-kun. Go finish eating before you do any more damage to yourself." Ken scowled death at Omi but didn't argue back. The call of kimchi was too much for him. Although he did manage to get a glass of milk. He turned to stare at Gojyo thoughtfully while he ate. Aya had talked about the man called 'Gojyo'; a halfbreed demon (Or something like that…it seemed a little fantastical to Ken…) who apparently could have been Yohji's twin in many ways. Maybe this one wouldn't be so bad. Ken could handle an arrogant playboy attitude. Much of his serenity also came from the fact that Yohji was not his lover, and they also now knew that the problem wasn't…permanent. It also helped that they'd been expecting something like this.

Currently, the man in question seemed to have forgotten about everyone and was staring with a fascination at Yohji's wavy brown locks that bordered on slightly creepy.

"Ok, so you're _Gojyo_. To bring you up to the very basic, the man whose body you're in is Kudo, Yohji. But we all call him Yohji. The flower shop fangirls call you Yotan." Gojyo blinked up at him, seemingly confused for a moment.

"I have brown hair. Naturally. Wait….I have a fanclub?" Ken nodded at him slowly.

"Uhh….yeah. You ok?" Gojyo nodded and Ken continued to watch him warily. "Yeah, you have a fanclub. A sorta impromptu one anyways. Eighteen and over." This seemed to brighten the stranger's day.

"Excellent, excellent…Sounds like my kinda fanclub." he leered, sprawling into a chair, and it looked to Ken like he unfolded as he stretched long legs beneath the table. Finding his gaze on those lanky limbs, Ken blushed slightly before turning to look back up at the new comer.

"Umm….Ran'll be here soon I think. Any questions?" Yohji's new inhabitant smirked.

"Yeah. Who's Ran?" Ken bristled for a moment before relaxing. Even if Gojyo had been told about the rest of Weiss via Sanzo, he wouldn't have known Aya's real name. Especially since Aya himself didn't call himself by his own name. Ken highly doubted the red-head would have introduced himself to Sanzo's companions as 'Ran'.

"Aya. Ran is Aya. But don't even _try_ calling him Ran. He's Aya to you." Gojyo's smirk widened.

"And if I slip up?" he teased. Ken glared at him.

"I kick your ass _after_ Aya does. Do you call _Sanzo_ by his real name?" Gojyo looked thoughtful. Ken sighed.

"Just don't do it. It goes beyond teasing and into personal territory." Gojyo shrugged, and dug around in his pockets. He struck gold when his hand came out with a back of _Seven Stars_ brand cigarettes.

"Light-up outside man, or Omi'll kill you." 'Yohji' raised an eyebrow and shrugged causally, moving towards the door that led out to a balcony. Once he was outside, Ken let out a sigh. At that moment, Aya burst into the room, Omi hot on his heels. Ken gestured over towards the door.

"Having a cig." the brunet said easily. Aya nodded and sat down at the table.

"It would appear, " he began, gesturing for Ken to sit and stop eating standing up, " that I'm not the only one involved in this."

"Shit."

Omi summed it up nicely, Ken thought.

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Over dinner, and through a different sort of headache (Due largely to Gojyo and a certain loud, clingy monkey…), Sanzo related the things that had happened to him while he was 'away.' Including the suspicion of Kannon's involvement that was pretty much fact. All of the amused laughter and snide comments he'd had to endure during his prolonged period of torture confirmed it in Sanzo's mind.

Which brought the group to their next topic of discussion, that had caused quite a stir. Which was to say, that since Sanzo had largely accomplished and learned nothing while away, whatever was going on was not finished yet. They should expect more mishaps along the same lines, or other venues not yet considered, including and spanning beyond just Sanzo himself. Gojyo had made a noise of protest and Goku had out and out yelled about it, half in fear and half in rage. It had taken three whacks and the threat of a bullet to get him silent. They likely had no choice. Sanzo made that perfectly clear.

His next step was to relate careful details about the members of Weiss that he had learned, and connect which member of his party would likely wind up as who. He hoped the bastards appreciated his efforts, since he'd had no bloody warning at _all_. After that, he'd taken a cup of coffee, three back issues of newspaper Hakkai had been saving for him, and his cigarettes, and took off up stairs to his rented room for some much needed private time.

It was a good thing he'd bothered to do so. He got about two hours in before Goku burst into the room, followed by an apologetic Hakkai, who'd been unable to keep the youth from advancing on Sanzo any longer. After that, Sanzo's private night was pretty much shot to hell, and they'd all settled in for mahjongg. And even though he would never _ever_ admit it, even to himself, Sanzo had enjoyed the company; maybe even…_missed_ it. Although that might have been going a bit too far. Now saying that he'd missed his booze and cigarettes; that was something he'd willingly admit.

They finally went to bed (Read: Sanzo booted everyone out except his monkey of a roommate.) at around midnight, Sanzo threatening them with an early, grueling departure the following morning. There had been a collective groan as everyone realized they'd have to readjust to the schedule they'd been given reprieve from for a few days.

All except, of course, Gojyo. Who did not show up for breakfast. Nor did he arrive afterwards. Sanzo finally sent Hakkai up after the kappa, lest he go up himself and shoot the man instead. Goku enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, for once not having to worry about losing food to that lying, stealing pervert. Sanzo read his paper and drank his coffee in silence, breakfast finished, the vein on his forehead increasing in size each passing moment that Gojyo remained absent from the table.

Finally, some ten minutes later, Hakkai reappeared on the inn stairs, a sleepy, confused looking Gojyo following shortly behind. They both sat at the table, although Gojyo's confused expression increased. Sanzo's rant stopped mid breath, however, as he noticed the red-head only going for coffee, and lighting up a cigarette. He completely ignored the food on the table, and the fact that Goku had eaten most of it. Hakkai was looking polite in that strained sort of way that bespoke a man on the verge of loosing his temper.

Great. Gojyo had likely left the building, so to speak.

With a great sigh, Sanzo folded his paper and took off his glasses, vein fading away. He rubbed the bridge of his nose in irritation at the comatose look on the kappa's face.

"Naa, Gojyo, aren't you gonna eat something?" Goku prompted, even being courteous enough to wave a bowl of congee beneath the kappa's nose invitingly. Gojyo turned a slight shade of green and jerked away hastily, coming more awake.

"Ahh…no thanks…." he squinted at Goku for a moment "….kiddo. I don't do food before noon. 'Sides, looks like you got it all under control. What timezzit anyway?" Hakkai chuckled.

"It's about eight am." he said evenly, bad mood beginning to fade at the spectacle of Gojyo politely declining food Goku was _giving_ him.

"Name?" Sanzo asked bluntly from across the table. He was glaring in irritation at Gojyo. 'Gojyo' blinked back at him and frowned.

"Well g'morning to you too, Happy. Yohji. I'm Yohji, if you must know. And I think I need to lay off the hard shit for awhile, 'cause this is one fucked up dream…" He trailed off muttering into his coffee cup. The liquid within disappeared within moments, but at least the man blinked himself a bit more awake afterwards. Sanzo waved a hand in the air in annoyance.

"Waitress!" when a young woman scuttled nervously to his side, he gestured with a nod towards Yohji. "Keep the damn coffee coming until he says stop." the girl nodded and scurried off, returning a few moments later with a large, steaming coffee pot. She poured Yohji a drink and somehow, he managed to smile suavely at her. His half-asleep look transformed into a bedroom look and the waitress flushed and giggled nervously.

"Here you are sir. Please drink up." she giggled. Yohji's smile widened.

"I'll be sure to, if it means you'll come back and refill my cup…." he trailed off suggestively. The waitress rushed off flushed and tittering excitedly. Sanzo face-palmed while Hakkai laughed good-naturedly.

"My, my, energetic this morning, aren't we, Yohji-san?" Yohji shrugged.

"It's a reflex by now. Can't help it. And none of that 'san' stuff. The kid calls me 'kun' and it drives me nuts. Just Yohji is fine."

"Alright then, Yohji. I'm Hakkai. I'm guessing this won't be much different than what happened with Sanzo?" Yohji frowned and took another large swallow of coffee, trying to force his muddled brain to work.

Hakkai, Sanzo. Hakkai, Sanzo. Why the _hell_ were those two names so familiar? They were important, he knew that much. Hakkai….Sanzo…_Sanzo…_.Wait….Hold on….Yohji pinched himself. Goku laughed at his expression, Hakkai chuckled in amusement and Sanzo glared across the table at him with something that _might _be considered empathy.

Maybe. Then again it could have just been the glare of morning light reflecting off the water glass next to him.

"Oh, _shit_." the playboy muttered, letting his forehead fall to the table with a resounding bang. The waitress scuttled back over with the coffeepot, but Yohji turned his head to the side slightly, waving a hand in protest.

"No thanks honey, I don't wanna be anymore awake than I already am…" she scurried off, pouting in disappointment. Yohji lifted his head and stared at the faces regarding him with no small amount of resign.

"Well, I'd say 'let's play spin the bottle', but that's rather high-school, and not really a good method of breaking the ice anyways. Does 'nice to meet you' work?" At his side, Hakkai gave a friendly smile.

"It's certainly a start." The healer replied. Yohji groaned again and put his head back down on the table.

"Shit."

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My many apologies for the delay, and THANKS for the reviews. I am currently making plans for my return to America in August (and departure for a week's trip to Tokyo and the Edo Mura in July leading up to the flight…), and combining that and school visits, I now have no life. Sadly.

In any case, for all my Edo fans, no, I have not forgotten about the story, and the next chapter is in the process of being written. Being a more serious chapter that will probably go longer, It's taking me forever.

Finally, my apologies if this chapter is excessively silly. I really have been heavily stressed the past two weeks, and it's starting to show itself in about all facets of life. Thank you for reading, and again for reviewing, and thanks again for your patience with my tardiness. Until next time,

Ja na!

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